Woe is the plight of the less famous brother. Billy Carter and Roger Clinton know what I mean, as does every Baldwin not named Alec.

Sure, being a famous brother can mean free appetizers and the occasional beer named after you, but mostly it's just people asking you about your bro.

Even in the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario gets all the glory -- not to mention the love of the princess -- while poor Luigi stays behind and minds the plumbing business.

At least, until Professor E. Gad calls.

Then, before you can say, "I ain't afraid of no ghosts," Luigi finds himself swept away to fight a plethora of poltergeists in a variety of creeptastic locations.

That's the gist of "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon," the long-awaited sequel to the 2001 Game Cube launch title, "Luigi's Mansion."

Professor E. Gad apparently spent the past dozen years studying ghosts (exactly where, we aren't sure, but it's not the Mushroom Kingdom). Suddenly, the smorgasbord of specters turns against the diminutive doctor, wreaking havoc throughout his town.

Before you can say Mike Teevee, the good professor uses his pixelator (patent pending) to transport Luigi to his lab. Reassembled and ready to help, Luigi sets off to the first haunted hideaway to recover pieces of the shattered Dark Moon.

You see, the Dark Moon keeps the happy haunts, er, happy.

So the oft-overlooked Mario brother must tread through not one but numerous ghost-infested locales, find the pieces and restore the Dark Moon.

Of course, he will have his trusty ghost vacuum, as well as a special light to stun the spirits, and a rainbow-colored beam to reveal invisible items.

Though fun, the original "Luigi's Mansion" lacked diversity and little incentive to replay through cleared areas. "Dark Moon" has no such problems.

Every location hosts multiple missions, and though you might traverse certain areas more than once, each visit features differences requiring thorough exploration.

Hidden items abound. To find every hidden gem, secret ghost (each mission has a hidden Boo, the type of ghost from the "Super Mario" games) and piece of treasure, you must use every sleuthing bone in Luigi's skinny body.

Missions are graded, based on your time, the amount of life you use and the treasure and ghosts you collect. With ratings of one through three stars -- the higher ratings are difficult to achieve -- perfectionists should plan to spend plenty of hours trying to best this beast.

Additionally, there's a special haunted tower for "Luigi" to climb with friends in co-op mode. Having a buddy along for the apparition apprehension is great fun, especially for anyone who ever wanted to step into the "Ghostbusters" shoes of Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd.

"Dark Moon" isn't the easiest game on the 3DS, as both the puzzles and action test your skills. Luigi goes into each mission with 100 health points that can go fast, particularly in boss battles.

You can replenish points with random heart pickups, and at times the game will throw you a bone, allowing you to be resurrected if you die. Generally, though, if you lose your life, you start the mission over.

Since most games offer little to no penalty for failure, some might find this frustrating. I, however, find that it only adds to the challenge.

The biggest problem I had was with the 3D visuals. They are beautiful, but the game's complicated controls have you tilting your system, making it difficult to keep the 3D in focus, given the handheld's limited viewing angle.

Others might be better able to keep the effect in focus, but I had a better time turning off the 3D and playing this as a 2D game.

Either way, "Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon," amused, challenged and kept me generally entertained for hours. This is a great return to the series, though I hope that the next time I'm manhandling manifestations, it will be on the Wii U. I can only imagine the great things Nintendo could do with that second screen.

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MacIntyre says the completed project will be best in Pac-12There were bulldozers, hard hats, mud, concrete trucks, blueprints, mud, cranes, lots of noise and, uh, mud, during the last recruiting cycle when Colorado football coach Mike MacIntyre brought recruits to campus. Full Story

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